Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-09-10

DENTAL CURIOsITIES.
Curious Facts Learned 1t the Exhibl'
ton Of Dentistry.
HOW TEETH WERE FILLED IN THE DAYS OF RoNuLus-
GEORGE wASHINGrON's FALSE TEETH MADE By
Observation-Disclosures INVITATIONS OF NATURE
THE INFLAMMATION "PROCEss," ETC.
To the person who believes that the sphere Of
| the dentist embraces only, or principally, the
operation commonly known as quilting" teeth
but called in dental vernacular ''extracting," 9
| visit to the clinical operations at the Franklin
building would have been q revelation. There
| every morning throughout the week, prominent
dentists have performed some Of the most din
| cult and useful operations known to the profes-
sion. Patients were treated gratis in a highly
scientific manner-flling, building, scraplng were
done on all sides. This work has, perhaps, attrac
TED more attention than that Of any other section
| OF the Medical Congress.
The human mouth with its various uses and
bilities. Invention runs riot in cavities between
roots and through the gums. Dental science has
been advanced wonderfully in the past few years
Methods that ten years ago were considered the
acme OF perfection are now abandoned as musty
| and worthless
| THE WORK OF ETRUSCAN DENTISTS.
ASAA"Po VIC AAAoSI luIcTcSlluS VI VIC CA
hbt at the school building Is the collection Of Dr.
E. Parmly Brown, of Flushing, N. Y, which shows
comparative history Of all OF the work in artih-
! clal teeth-making known at the present time.
s specimens are shown OF etruscan work In Old
umes-very Old-running back OF the Caesars and
into the oblivion OF early Rome, the prime object
OF dentistry seems TO have been TO make the mouth
| visible gold mine. An ancient belle, having
once been through the hands OF the mOuth-tinker,
could throw back her head and laugh with open
Jaws with perfect comfort and complacency, for
most bew1ldering display Of gold bands stretching
from one side OF the mouth to the other, gold vets
feet Eldorado Of dental extraVaganee. Her artifi-
cla teeth were filed from the tusks OF the elephant
ana other 1vory-bearing animals and were fast
ened TO her gums by this profuson OF the precious
metal A dentallzed Roman carried a fortune In
his mouth. Gradually, with the growing economy
OF civilization, efforts were made TO use less gold,
anu nnaily 10 hide what was used entirely from
sight.
THE DENTIST OF A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
In making shifts to prepare set Of artificial
teeth Tor the gums, resources were made use OF
that would have aStOniShed the wearerS II they
only knew whence came the teeth they wore. Dr..
Brown has in his collection box containing over
1000 teeth which once comprised the stock In
trade OF DR.. Jno Greenwood, Who pulled teeth
hundred years ago. A more miscellaneous cOllec-
| tiOn OF molars, 1ncisors and bicuspids would be
hard to discover. Teeth from human jaws, teeth
from calves and otner animals are there, teeth
extracted from the dry jaws OF Egyptian mummieS
after their long sleep Of thousands OF years. with
their roots enthusiastically dlscOlOred by the
influence OF the asphaltum used In embalming,
teeth taken from the mouths OF slain warriors On
battle fields before BURIAL teeth from every source
imaginable. AS the dentist was explaining to
Inc reporter, physician standing In small
"My father" he said ''who was a dentist, used
TO get teeth from men who made a regular bust
ness OF collecting them from any possible source.
yes" responded another, 81 have seen teeth
used that once chewed the cud and other delicate
A tooth was shown that bad ORIGINALLY ha,onged
TO calf; 1t had been filed and sawed to a resem-
oiance to human tncisOr, and then fitted into
place Dy rtvetS. 1t had evidently worked loose
and been removed. The best work, however, was
done In ivory. section Of the tuSk would be
sawed into semi circular blocks and worked with
great labor and care into ''plate," having the
teeth sOidly attached to the edge. In some OF the
finer work the enamel OF the tusk was preserved,
and thus service was obtained fully as good as
the natural one.
GEORGE wAsH1NGTONs TEETH.
The central object cf Dr. Browns collection is q
Set Of teeth made for and worn by Gen. George
Washington. This is authenticated in the follow
ing manner: The general, finding the need OF
some teeth whereW1th to perform the duties of
maStlcattOn, was too far away from New York to
obtain artistic set at once New York was then
the center for dental work) and betook him to two
OF his neigh6ors blacksmith and 1eweler, who
walrus tusk, which served his excellency until
he went to New York and there was supplied with
better set. The old set Of teeth was given to
DR.. John Greenwood, before mentioned. whose SON
gave them to Dr. John Allen, who In turn present.
ed them to the Baltimore Dental college. The
jaws are spread open and fastened on small up
right, showing plates Of silver and other metals
which fastened the tissues in the ivory into one
s0lid piece. According to appearances the con-
dition Of the generals mouth. was far from
pleasant.
The set that Washington obtained in New York
was undoubtedly one OF porcelain ware then coming
into general use. The materials used were the
same as In making earthenware. In the cOllec-
taon is box of 5000 porcelain teeth, which cover
a md or
the old and the new. In this box are the manu-
features OF twenty different methods and nearly
all or the European countries.
There Is also shown a set made of an ivory plate
nlle0 with human teeth, which was worn by the
| Duke Of Brunswick. One tooth is riveted to the
plate with wood, the others with gold wires.
THE INFLAMMATION PROCESS.
But there Is one operation which overshadows
all others in its wonderful character and its i'm
portant future. This is the "tmplantatiOnn pro-
cess. The history OF the operation is as follows:
About one hundred years ago Dr. Hunter OF Edin-
burgh' scotland, had peculiar idea, and he FOL
human jaw and implanting it in the comb OF a
| rooster. The tooth grew, much to the delight OF
| But DR.. Hunters dinicuity now lay in the fact
| that he did not know Why 1t grew, and
consequently was unable in his future opera
lions TO select those peculiar conditions which
were necessary for successful work. Considerable
experimentation has gone on since that time with
varying success but It is only within the past two
Dr.. W. j. Younger, of San Francisco is the pioneer
| OF the practical work In implantatiOn, and has
been carrying 1t on for about two years. His first
step was to discover that which Dr. Hunter did not
know, the cause Of the growth OF the tooth He
has found he says that the human tooth Is prOvt-
ded, like grain OF wheat, with membraneOus
outer lining, which serves to supply the material
with nutrtment through absorption This is
termed The peri-cementune. tooth may be ex-
tracted Dr. Younger has discovered and laid away
for years, but II this membrane is not disturbed or
injured 1t may be used with success in implanting
YESTERDAYS OPERATION.
The operation which DR.. Younger yesterday
| performed on DR.. j. B. Miller, of Buchanan. w.
Va, was as follows: search was made in the
morning throughout the dental establishments OF
| the city until suitable tooth was found intact
In its coating, perfectly sound, and OF the proper
size. The vacant place In Dr. Millers gum had
yawned for nearly four years, and the missing
tooth was described the right superior lateral.
that Is, In palmer language, one OF the "eye-
teeth" OF the upper jaw, just TO the right of the
central teeth. The tooth was first prepared by re-
moving with dental burrs all Of the pulp, and re-
placing 1t with "hlni,stopping," preparation Of
ready. the gum was cut open by two
| upward tncisions, making clap" None
| OF the flesh was removed. The dentist then bored
| up into the taw-bone or his patient, forming 8
cavity there, working away until the hole was ex-
actly the size and shape OF the root OF the tooth
/ This consumed about thirty minutes. The pre-.
pared tooth was then inserted and SO fitted that
| there was perfect contact between the bone and
| the root, and the line of the edges OF the teeth
| was exact. A thread was next tied around the
| tooth and fastened to its two neighbors in order
i IN ar hon ASp1N